fdsailor.blog-city.com — June 2005
12:00 pm - Noon escape
Time for a true break from work. The car is hot in the sun - windows open, feel the wind in my face.
Stoplights and traffic yield to a calmer flow, then turn off the main road towards the park. Divided boulevard, overhanging trees, residential lawns. Lawns being watered, women walking their dogs along the sidewalk.
Parallel park near the park entrance - the first thing you notice are the birds singing in the trees. Walk a ways up the dusty path into the woods, climbing over roots, much like stairs.
The forest wraps around you, and the city disappears. A place of magic within the city. Many old, old trees, with their high canopies. Canopies that hold secret lives of their own unknown to me.
The sun is bright, but it is overhead, and I am inside. Only occasional shafts of light reach the ground, but look up, anywhere and there are leaves with bright, sunlit edges. No songs of suburban robins here - in the woods the wooden notes of the wood thrush rule.
I pass the water towers, as expected. Lying in the middle of the woods they seem unexpected guests that were finally accepted into the woods and now seem inseparable. Two towers, with graffiti and art across the circumference. It seems very gentle graffiti - perhaps it is impossibly to truly be angry in this setting. I look for some of my favorites, and find them.
Up a short hill, then into a sunny mowed field, with individual trees offering shelter from the sun. This is where people come to nap, lunch, talk and more. For me, it will be to rest. I lie on my back under a tree, looking up. The tree is large, with many thick branches. It looks over me while I rest for a bit.
It is finally time to leave, and to return. I start heading back, taking a different path - I have no encircled the grove. Then everything in reverse - a gentle return to the real world.
7 pm - Corporate Challange 2005
Corporate Challenge, take two. Last year this was my first race (I blame two women from work who talked me into it last May), and this year it is the exact same course. So what a chance for science - comparisons! Metrics! If you can't measure it, you can't improve it (remember that one?).
OK, here is the general setting - course at RIT, running around the campus "loop" road - quite flat. 10,000 runners, give or take. Temperature - now that's a bit of a problem, at least for me. I have lead a rather guarded existence in the previous three whole races I have run - they have all be in 70 degree or less temperatures. Today it is about 78, and feels like more on the blacktop that has been baking in the sun all day long. Oh yeah - and it is reasonably humid.
Hydrate, wait in line for the port-a-pot. Double tie shoes. Jog a bit. Stretch. Line up - this time I have learned my lesson and line at about 1 minute / mile faster pace point then I expect to run - and still find myself behind slower runners. But this time only 20 seconds to the start line, not 45 like last year.
We listen to the standard announcements and speeches while all the runners do there individual "nervous runner things" - stretching, jogging in place, listening to tunes, fiddling with their gadgets, looking at their watches. Some official greets us with a nice, cheery "And can you imaging have better weather for this event? " - this was particularly amusing, and everyone glanced at each other to say - "Oh yes, I can imagine having MUCH better weather for this event" - like 15 degrees cooler - even raining!
"Runners ready.... horn" - once again I momentarily see bobbling heads ahead, and finally get to move - slowly at first. Then the maze - where to go, everyone passing, trying to find a line. I headed to the right of the road - once the side gates disappeared, passing was the norm.
I planned to run this race by the heart rate numbers - start off at a 7 minute pace until my heart rate reached 168, then slow a bit and hold a rate of 172. As the miles go by, this eventually increases to 178 around the last 1 mile or so, which I hold. In the last half mile, allow maybe 180 or so.
Well, stubborn Chuck stuck to this plan. My legs were willing, but I didn't have full understanding of what my brain was thinking about it. During the last 1.5 miles, it was simple - I had already convinced myself that this would be the last race I would run. I was not having fun, was not sure if I was going to finish, and rather unsure why I was bothering to keep pace. But that is what I had trained for - complete, don't give up. Otherwise I would quit every time.
Well, I did not quit. I let some people by, and passed a few more - although people do not count in this race - they don't even record your finish. Only the clock matters, and (unless you are good), no one even cares about that except yourself. To make a long story short, I finished in 25:56 - almost four minutes faster than I ran it the previous year. My pace was 7:18 a mile (if I give myself the 20 seconds to start), or 7:23 if I count from the gun. This exceeded by goal of a 7:30 pace. I placed 8th (I think) in my company's 130 runners - better than I had any right to.
That is the good news. I scored less highly on the "know thyself" scale. After the finish, I was clearly a bit disoriented - walking somewhat drunkenly, and light in the head. After about a minute I sat down and attracted the attention of some people at the finish line that were placed there to pour cold water - I rated two glasses and some watching glanced for a few minutes. Then I trundled back to my company's race tent. I still was not making complete sense and it took me probably 10 minutes before I was back to just feeling a bit sick (which is pretty standard).
Clearly my plan didn't take into account running in the heat. I expected the heat would naturally increase my heart rate and so I would naturally just pace a bit slower. Well, lesson learned - it doesn't work exactly that way. I have some thoughts on how it should work, but I will save that boring stuff for a later entry.
And no, one should take anything thought during an actual race with a grain of salt. I expect I will run more races, and hope I will be a bit wiser with each one.
4:30 pm – San Diego, try 1
OK, well I am supposed to be in the air as I write, but it doesn’t look like its going to happen today. The idea was to go on a “short, quick” trip to San Diego to support a 2 hour sales meeting from a technical advisor standpoint. How long does it take to do this? Well, the meeting is in the morning, so you have to fly the previous day. We were to leave at 2:40 pm, which would get us into San Diego at 8:30 pm Pacific time (11:30 pm Eastern time). Then sleep, meet from 8 to 10 am, and then fly back on a noon flight that gets you back to Rochester by 11 pm. So add it up any way you want, it takes two working days (and two of my nights) for this 2 hours. Oh well, guess that’s why they pay me the big bucks – it certainly isn’t to suggest cheaper alternatives like a combination telecon and Webex session!
But surprise, there have been a line of thunderstorms attacking the east coast today, so it has become clear that no one is going anywhere today – this airport wait (some of it we spent in the plane on the tarmac, and we finally returned) was just an exercise. The plan is to leave instead tomorrow (Tuesday) and meeting on Wednesday morning.
Groan…
9 pm PST – in San Diego
Well, today things went more or less as planned. The departure from Rochester was uneventful and on schedule. The departure from Chicago was less perfect – we waited for two last minute connecting passengers and their bags (no problem, only 30 minutes) but unfortunately this got us “out of line” and we got sent to the end after 19 other jets – finally departed about 1.5 hours behind schedule. Luckily I had not connections, and we just arrived into San Diego a bit late.
My three other co-travelers went out for Mexican and extroversion – I opted to walk on the beach instead. So off the La Jolla beach I went.
I arrived just after sunset. By now many of the people had left, leaving mostly the surfers and occasional beach walkers. The sound of the surf was wonderful, and the wind, while cool was appreciated. This is the San Diego worth visiting.
Probably 20 surfers out, and the sun has set – as it happens, they will remain for another half hour – unwilling to come back in – playing is just too fun. Near the end it feels like they are saying on the low waves not by sight, but rather by feel and perhaps the sense of smell.
I see a couple on the beach doing something involving sticking around 50 bamboo sticks in the sand and stringing them with kelp that has washed up on the beach. I have no idea what it is about, but they seem to be having fun.
The beach here at La Jolla is very cool, very California – it has high bluffs that steeply slope down to the sea – not quite cliffs, but too steep to climb. This usually leaves perhaps 100 feet of beach, but in some areas the beach is very narrow, and you have to ensure you don’t get isolated in a section if the tide is “coming in”. Beware, long walk takers like me. But I am wise to the trick and won’t get caught tonight, which is a short walk anyways.
Some scattered groups sit on the beach, but most people have gone home. The waves run in long, parallel lines – the sand is scattered with washed up patches of kelp, not looking unlike boiled cabbage leaves, but sort of a blue-green in color. And the color fades with the daylight.
Now, time to return to civilization, a hotel room, and sleep. Early to bed, early to rise.
2:49 pm – In the air, from San Diego
The meeting this morning went OK, but it still seemed like it could have been done by telephone with no loss. I think the sales group has an overblown feeling of the potential sales prospects on this one. So now I am on the return leg. Hopefully our late departing flight (the plane arrived late into the gate) will not cause me to miss my connection in Washington.
10:06 pm – Dulles Airport, Washington
Well, I’m still here! The board says my flight is delayed until 10:15, but so far I see no plane. I am getting quite tired of this!
12:30 am – Finally Fairport
10:30 PM - Running on the trolly trail
It has been really hot today (33 degrees), so I waited until the day cooled off, then went for a standard run on the trolly trail. This in recent past has been done with Masha, but she seems to be missing, and life goes on, so there I was.
As a quick reminder, in this part of the world, it is dark at 10:30 pm. The lightning bugs were at their peak, and looked like glittering lights scintillating in mid-air. So I run off into the darkness, seemingly into a field of stars. I am motivated to keep running - the alternative is being eaten by many mosquitoes. At one point I scared up several deer, or should I say they scared me! They seems close in the bushes, and gave a yell, which I answered with a "shooo!" yell of my own.
Through this all, the sky was very interesting - clear enough you could see stars, but at the same time, there often were faint flashes of light that covered the sky in sheets. Lighting from some far off thunderstorm, I guess.
11:40 pm - Catching up on things.
The last two weeks have seemed like a blur - they really, really have. Not only have they gone too fast, but they were very busy. Now Masha is back home in her own personal blur, and we all individually will start to find the structure of our new, everyday lives.
So bear with me - I am slowly working at getting pictures posted, and other things. Actually there is quite a bit of activity in yoj.smugmug.com - Olga's wedding, Masha's graduation and party and some new pictures from us. Check it out, even though it is under construction, still.
Also got a dehumidifier for the basement. Really exciting! (yawn...). And I had a friend over to calibrate our monitors - so hopefully soon what I see truly will be what I get (when I have a photograph printed). Exciting for me, boring to everyone else.
Now time for bed - in the summer I work four days a week from 7 until 5:30, so really need to get to bed by 12!
9:30 pm - A new fitness program???
They say the key to a good exercise program is having motivation. Now when they said that, I figure that they mean being motivated by being more fit, losing weight, impressing your mate -- whatever! Well, I have a new twist on this, and having just tried it, can tell you that it works very well. It is called..... THE ICE CREAM RUN! Now THERE'S motivation!
It works like this. You park your car across the canal from Abbots Ice Cream in Bushnell's Basin. You run to Pittsford and back (8 km), then you drive across the canal and get your kiddie chocolate almond in a waffle cone. YUMMM! Maybe we could call it the "gain weight and cardiovascular fitness at the same time program". Maybe I should write Runner's Magazine so they can suggest this program to others! :-)
Two other things - when leaving the parking lot where I was running from, there was a small recreation field (small soccer field). In the middle was a badminton net and .... two baby fawns, maybe 60 cm tall, playing together. Where is Mom? I looked a bit, and finally found her about 50 meters away at the side of the field. She was watching me like a hawk, but apparently saw no cause for alarm.
On the way home I stopped (on a whim) for cherries at Martins. As it happens they had a big sale on cherries - normally 3.99 a pound, but on sale for $1.29 a pound (2.80 / kg), which is way below what is costs them, at least this time of year! And sure enough, there were about 8 people, snatching up cherries. I bought several pounds, which only cost me $2.50. Yummm.
